


Lost Boy

by Brentinator, Clover_Rose



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Concussions, Confused Peter Parker, F/M, Family, Flash is Peter’s best friend, Friendship, Gen, Get it?, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Ned is Spider-Man, Parallel Universes, bearss, but just bear with us here, haha i’ll stop now, it’s all weird
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-25
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-08-05 18:15:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16372622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brentinator/pseuds/Brentinator, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clover_Rose/pseuds/Clover_Rose
Summary: Title inspired by Lost Boy by Ruth B."Run, run, lost boy," they say to me. "Away from all of reality."





	Lost Boy

**Author's Note:**

> So I came up with this idea in March/April of this year when I had a large interest in parallel universes, and thanks to the fabulous editing of Stardust16, this is not only a reality, but my longest one-shot yet, so thank you, and I hope you enjoy!

Peter knew he had to stop going after every single armed robbery he saw. But, he also knew the potential of getting hurt, as he'd been lectured by Mr. Stark and his aunt about the same issue, and —even then— he still couldn't stop himself. People could get hurt, and maybe—just maybe—that included him too, but keeping Queens safe was his main priority at the moment, and he wasn't about to stop protecting others, even if it meant putting himself directly into the face of danger.

That being said, he was just starting his after-school patrol when he heard the commotion from twenty alleys over (super hearing seriously rocked sometimes). Quickly webbing his bag to a nearby wall, he shot out a web from his wrists (Okay, he admitted that he had no problem with walking, but webbing himself was always faster and could get him to the danger quicker. Plus, it was kinda fun) and swung through the towering buildings and skyscrapers, before coming to a stop and dropping himself directly into scene with one of his cool "superhero poses" (as Ned liked to call it).

Seeing four masked men cornering a woman and what looked like a five year old girl (who was probably her daughter. He could tell that easily, thanks to the matching blonde hair and blue eyes), the superhero immediately sprung into action and yelled, "Hey, criminals! Pick on someone else, why don't you?!"

The men, of course, like he knew they would, turned around and looked him dead in the eyes, but didn't speak. Instead, all they did was smile from under their ski masks and raise the weapons they held in their arms before focusing all of the attention on the fifteen year old vigilante, rather than the mother and daughter.

Peter, however, had a plan, and launched a web from his left hand around the awning of a small convenience store to hoist himself in the air, while using the web shooter on his right to shoot a stream of something white and string-like, as he wrapped the thin web around the four men.

Seeing as the men were finally secured in the webs, the teenager hopped off the metal awning and quickly scribbled a note together for the police to read once they came to pick up said criminals.

When they were secured in the webs, he came down from the metal awning and quickly scribbled a note together, attaching it to the webs before going over to the mother and daughter, who had been watching the whole time and were clearly shaken up.

"Are you two okay?" He asked the pair, with concern for their safety.

"Yeah, we're okay. Thank you, Spider-Man." The mother told him gratefully, which had him blushing under his mask.

"You're welcome, Ma'am. Call the police to pick up these goons, and then you should head home, just to be safe."

The woman nodded, and reached into her pocket, while Peter felt a strange sensation of his spider sense tingling again. Sending a shiver throughout his body, he turned around, quickly seeing a fist coming at him, and caught it midair.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," He stated, shooting a quick kick near the guy's neck, while he twisted his wrist. Unfortunately, the conscious criminal arranged himself to avoid the attack, and ultimately hit the superhero across the back of his head, with the gun that was previously tucked away in his belt.

His vision spinning, the teenager did the best that he could to attack the masked man, with the headache he had. Luckily, it didn't take too long, and only took a few minutes, as he kicked the guy in the center of his chest, and got the gun a good fifteen feet away from him.

"Yeah, you better run!" The vigilante shouted, as the guy did as he said and took off running around the corner. Leaning against a wall to catch his breath, the superhero did the best he could to calm his breathing and regain his vision, as he felt the edges of it going blurry and black.

"Spider-Man?" He heard from below him. Looking down, he came face to face with the same little girl as he had earlier. "Are you okay?" She questioned, her blue eyes wide with worry, as she tried her best to get the teenager's attention by tugging on the tight suit.

"Y-Yeah…" Peter breathed in reply, though his breaths were still coming in short, erratic huffs and puffs. And was it just him, or did his vision happen to be getting darker? "I-I'm—" Falling straight down on the ground, Peter was vaguely aware of a slight pulling on his fingers, as he lay sprawled out on his stomach, and a yell of "Mommy, call a hospital!" before his eyes fully closed and he was enveloped in darkness.

•••••••••••••••

"How is he?" was the first thing Peter heard as he started to come back to reality. Vaguely, he had an odd memory of hitting his head on something, and it sounded like a man's voice that was speaking, but he couldn't really place it and it didn't help that both things felt so familiar, yet so far away, as well. "Is he okay? Has he woken up yet?"

"No. The doctor said he should be alright, though. I think he just hit his head a little too hard after school." He heard May's loving voice, trying to reassure the other one, as he came back to consciousness, and felt a hand softly squeeze his own.

"Are you sure?" Another voice spoke and, this time, it sounded like a girl. But, he didn't know many girls besides Liz (who moved away), MJ, Sally and Cindy, so that didn't make any sense. "It's been hours. I thought we should've taken him to the hospital, or called an ambulance, but Flash—"

Then, upon hearing that, hearing about an ambulance, because there was no, absolute way he was going to a hospital, unless he wanted to be experimented on and turned into a human lab rat, Peter finally found the strength inside to pry open his eyes. As soon as he did so, though, lights—all too bright lights—flooded them, and he found MJ sitting on the edge of his bed, brushing his bangs away from his face, before he snapped them shut.

"Hey babe," She said, welcoming her boyfriend back to consciousness with a bright smile. "How you doing?"

"Uh, good?" The teen answered, as he opened his eyes again, though his sentence came more out like a question than it did a statement. Sitting up slowly, Peter pushed himself to lay with his back leaned against the pillows, but stopped when he felt Michelle lie him down again and place him flat on his back. "My—My head kinda hurts, though…"

Michelle let a small laugh slip past her lips, but kept it quiet to help soothe her boyfriend's threatening headache. "I'm not surprised." She smiled. "Flash said he found you beaten up in an alley. Apparently, you hit it pretty hard, considering you were out for, like, five hours."

Now, Peter really wanted to focus on the rest of what Michelle said; though, that was mainly the part about him being unconscious for five hours, because that was enough for Flash to find out he was Spider-Man, take a selfie of him, all unconscious, with the suit on, and use it as blackmail. But, instead, he found himself focusing on the part where Flash found him in an alley, and actually called someone to help. Or, in other words, the part where Flash actually acted like a living, breathing thing, with intelligence and emotions.

"Wait, what?" He asked, disbelief laced into his own tone. "Flash?! Like, the guy who knew about my allergy to peanuts and tried to poison me two months back? That Flash?"

"Um…" Suddenly Michelle stopped and paused, making a rush of worry run through the boy's mind. "As far as I'm aware," She said, slowly. "There's not two Flash's at Midtown, Peter, and the only one that is has been your best friend since grade seven. How hard did you hit your head?"

Peter wasn't really sure if that was a rhetorical question or not, but he decided not to answer it either way. Instead, he frowned as he ran a hand through his hair, and felt a sizeable bump on the back on his head. Pulling his hand away, he saw a bit of blood on his fingertips, but figured it must've been cleaned or tended to, as there wasn't much.

"Your head was bleeding a bit," Michelle spoke, as she saw the teen looking at his hands, and Peter took the chance to look up at her again. Instead of wearing her usual combination of dark colours and clothes, she wore bright, feminine ones; currently, she was wearing a knitted pink sweater, a pair of blue jeans with gold embroidered along the pockets, and a pair of white and blue Adidas shoes. Her hair, though, was also different, as it wasn't in her usual low ponytail, and was rather curled and cascading down her back. And, while Peter didn't know much about fashion, he did know Michelle's style, and what she wore, and "every teenage girl ever" wasn't it.

"May and I had to clean it, since it kept bleeding and your blood kinda refused to clot, but it should scar soon, and you should feel better in a few days," Michelle continued, and only then did Peter direct his attention back to the girl on the edge of his bed. "Anyway, I'm going to go get your aunt and let her know you're awake. Maybe lie down for a while, 'kay, babe?" Softly squeezing her boyfriend's hand and placing a quick kiss on his forehead, Michelle had then walked away to find May, and left Peter to figure out what was going on as well.

'So, Flash,' He thought. '…is my best friend, and I'm assuming by Michelle's use of the word "babe" that we're dating. It sounds like Aunt May is… still my aunt, thank goodness, but where's Ned? And Mr. Stark?' Then, looking down, Peter had then noticed that his suit had been replaced with one of his white pajama shirts, and that he was wearing a pair of grey sweats instead. And, unless Michelle and Flash actually took initiative to get him into more comfortable clothes, that also meant his suit was gone.

…Which also meant it was out there, somewhere in the world, with someone who knew his identity and, not only that, but the fact that he was Spider-Man.

Feeling a panic attack start to arise within him, the teenager, feeling his hands shake and his chest beginning to get heavy, swung his legs off the bed and stood up quickly. However, it seemed as if he stood up too quickly, as his vision began to spin, and the teenager had to close his eyes and grab on to the desk nearby to steady it and stop himself from toppling over.

"Oh, Peter, sweetheart…" A worried voice filled his ears as the teen felt two pairs of hands gently sit him back on his bed. Opening his eyes, he saw MJ wrapping an arm around his waist and pulling him close, so he could rest his head on her shoulder, and his aunt, May, crouched in front of him, which lead him to release a breath of relief. She was still the same Aunt May, with no distortions or differences to her appearance, which was just what he needed in this weird, confusing time of his life.

"You okay there, sport?" He heard a voice ask, and the teenager turned his head, only to see his mentor in the doorway. However, instead of wearing a suit or his Iron Man armour, he was wearing a shirt displaying some band called AC/DC and jeans, which, Peter thought, was definitely a step down from his usual style choice.

"Mr. Stark?" Peter asked, as Michelle brought up an ice pack in her hands and settled it against his head (which was still in the crook of her neck). "What are you doing here?" He questioned, confused. "Shouldn't you be back at the compound? Or tower?"

"What tower, kid? And, are you sure you're feeling alright? You haven't called me Mr. Stark since your aunt and I—" At the sound of her name, May came closer to her husband and smiled brightly. "—Got married."

"Uh, what?" That made Peter's jaw drop as he looked wide-eyed at the two adults in front of him, before he began to shake his head (which was a bad idea, considering his vision wasn't doing so great today). "B-But…" Taking his head off of Michelle's shoulder, the teen stared at the two who just told him this sudden news. "Didn't you—Didn't you two hate each other? Or, don't you, I mean? I'm pretty sure the last time I checked…"

"I have to admit, I didn't really approve of him at first, but after he saved your life, I couldn't help myself and fell head over heels for him," May insisted, before standing on her toes to wrap her arms around her husband's neck, and kiss him.

Turning his head into Michelle's shoulder with a sound of annoyance and disgust, Peter had tried to shake the weird image of his aunt, and not Pepper, kissing his mentor, but it didn't do any good. In fact, all it did was make Michelle move her hand so she could rub small circles on his back, and force the teenager to open his eyes (because, he did still need to see). But, then, the teen watched as May turned to the side, and he, feeling queasy, almost threw up from shock at what he saw.

"A-Aunt May? A-Are you…" He couldn't even get it out. But, she seemed to understand, as she smiled and wrapped an arm round her belly.

"I meant to tell you after school... But, we're having a baby!"

Unfortunately, though, that was all it took for Peter to fall forward, slipping from Michelle's grip, as he hit his head on the uncarpeted floor, and fell unconscious once more.

•••••••••

"—eter... Peter, can you hear me, sweetie?"

"Ugh..." Letting a small groan slip past his lips, the teenager squeezed his eyes tighter as he felt himself come back to consciousness. Behind his eyes, there was this constant, painful pounding, but atop his body was something soft. A blanket, maybe?

"M-May?" He muttered, voice coming out like a croak and sounding like he had a frog in his throat.

"Oh, thank god." Her voice came again, sounding soft and soothing, but washed out and far away, almost as if it was underwater. "I thought we'd have to call a doctor, or take you to the hospital."

"H-Hospital?" He echoed, a small tinge of fear within his own tone.

"Yeah." May nodded as Peter finally opened his eyes, only for her concerned ones to pour into his. Holding an ice pack against his head, she was smiling sadly and brushing a curl away from his face. "Do you remember what happened?" She asked.

"Yeah." Peter nodded as he began to answer, but stopped as he did, since his vision was still spinning. "I..." Stopping, the teenager took a moment to pause, his brain searching for the words while his mouth tried to form them. "I passed out, right?"

"For fifteen minutes," May finished, a look of relief placed on her face. Setting the ice pack on the nightstand, she had then went to dim the lights, figuring they were too bright for her nephew's photosensitive eyes. "Guess we gave you too much information all at once, huh?"

The teenager didn't answer. Instead, Peter just sighed quietly and allowed his body's tension to lessen as the lights dimmed, giving him a better view of the room. Just like his old (or, rather, actual) one, the walls were blanketed in a light blue, while the heavy bedspread was the same colour, if just a little darker. But, as Peter scanned the area, all he took in was that someone specific was missing.

"May?" He asked, sitting himself up in the process. "Where's Michelle and Flash?"

Rushing over to the teenager, May gently laid him down again, as she took her seat back at the edge of the bed. "I sent them home," She answered, at last. "Since they have an early decathlon practice tomorrow. They wanted to stay and see if you were okay, but I told them it was getting late and I wanted you to have as much rest as you could get."

"So... I take it I'm not going to school tomorrow then?" Peter questioned.

May shook her head, brushing another hair away from the boy's face, as she took the ice pack and rested it back against his head. "Nope. As much as I don't like keeping you home, I already talked it over with Tony, and he agrees with me. The last thing we need is to send you to school, only to find out you passed out in class."

"But—But May!" Peter protested, as he bolted back up. Expecting his aunt to lie him down again, the teen was partially surprised—but mostly glad—when she didn't do so and, instead, fluffed his pillows so he could reposition himself against them as he spoke, before handing him the ice pack so he could nurse his wound. "I–I want to go to school! And I have a Spanish test tomorrow, and I can't miss it!"

May raised an eyebrow at this. "Spanish? Peter, you're taking French..."

"Spanish, French, same thing—"

"It's really not, sweetie."

"—Just let me go to school tomorrow! Please, May..." Peter pleaded, as he did his 'puppy dog' eyes. Big and full of innocence, he used them whenever he wanted something as a child, and it often worked out pretty well. Hopefully they worked as well in this universe as they did in the past one. "Please...?"

May sighed, as she gave in. "Fine," She agreed. "But you have to stay with Michelle and Flash all day, and I will be telling your teachers that you still have a concussion, or to notify me if they suspect something's up. Understood?"

Peter nodded, excitedly, as he wrapped his arms around his aunt and pulled her close. "Got it! Nothing will go wrong, I promise!"

May let out a chuckle as she pulled back from her nephew, smiling. "Alright," She said as she ran a hand through his hair. "I want you to finish up your homework—assuming you have any, that is—and then head to bed, okay? The last thing we need is for you to stay up all night and overexert yourself, only to find out you're too tired to go to school tomorrow."

"Got it, Aunt May," Peter responded with a smile, as he watched his aunt stand and begin to leave his beside. "Thanks."

"No problem, sweetie." Standing up, May had then ruffled her nephew's hair once more, before she left him to rest. "Now, feel better, okay? I love you, and I'll see you in the morning."

"Love you, too," Peter replied, just as the door closed and he was left alone. "And goodnight, Aunt May."

•••••••••••••••••••••••

"Dude, I still can't believe your aunt and uncle let you come to school," Flash ranted, as the teen took out his Chemistry textbook from his backpack, before stuffing it on the bottom shelf of his locker. "Seriously," He continued. "They are the most overprotective, helicopter adults I know—and that goes for your uncle more than your aunt, man."

"To be fair," Michelle said, as she tilted her head. "His aunt is pregnant, and his uncle probably doesn't want him to stress her out. I mean, just look at what happened yesterday."

Peter, in response, shot a look at the two, absolutely baffled. "Okay, first of all," He cut in. "That's not true! And second of all, I don't even remember what happened yesterday, so you can't use that as an excuse."

"Dude," Flash deadpanned. "You were mugged. How do you not remember that?"

Peter shrugged, as he switched his science binder out for his English one. "I don't know," He spoke. "I just don't, okay? And I probably won't even remember this conversation later, so it doesn't even matter."

Flash looked confused, but Michelle just responded to Peter's quip by coming up behind him and kissing his cheek.

"It's alright, Flash," She assured the boy, as she cast a glance over in his direction. "Even though this is a genius school, some of us just aren't able to comrephend information, or witty remarks, as much as others. It's okay."

Flash looked offended, and maybe a bit more confused than usual, but decided he had enough. Opening his mouth, the black-haired boy intended to reply, but couldn't; mainly because someone cut him off before he could.

"Hey look!" A teenager jeered at them, as he shifted the strap of his backpack and passed the three friends. "It's the geek squad!"

"Really? Then what does that make you and your friends?" Michelle shot back, making a shocked look appear placed on their classmate's face. Seeing as he was too stunned to reply, Michelle had then flipped him off, before flipping her hair, and turning back to her boyfriend and best friend.

Peter chuckled. Even stuck in an alternate universe, at least some things were the same; and one of them was Michelle didn't take shit from anyone.

"Hold this for me?" He asked the girl to his left, to which Michelle nodded in response. Taking a step back, she had then opened the textbook and began skimming through it, while the teenager tried to figure out what else he needed for his next class.

Taking a notebook out and exchanging it for another one, the teenager had then tried to close his locker, only to find someone had done it for him. The metal door slammed shut in a rush as Peter jumped back just as fast, so his fingers wouldn't get injured in the process.

Unfortunately, Peter didn't get very far, before a hand grabbed the collar of his shirt and pressed him up against the lockers, so that his feet weren't even touching the ground now. Blinking in shock, Peter had then tried to process what was happening as someone who surprised him by this behaviour, slapped him.

"Ned!" He yelled. "Dude, what the hell?"

Struggling against the older boy's grip, Peter had then tried to push Ned off of him, to no avail. Feeling his head bang against the lockers, the boy had then winced, feeling an explosion of pain near his right eye, before Michelle's voice rang out and interrupted the two.

"Ned!" She screamed. "Get off him, you idiot!"

"Yeah!" Flash added. Somehow, in the middle of everything, he had made his way to the front of the crowd that surrounded the fight, and was watching with wide eyes. "Come on, man! Peter hit his head yesterday! The least you can do is leave him alone!"

That seemed to do the trick. Raising an eye brow in suspicion and slight concern, Ned had then huffed, before dropping the boy and leaving him sprawled at the bottom of the lockers. Muttering a threatening "this isn't over yet, Parker", he had then left and walked the other way, leaving Michelle and Flash to run to the teenager in worry.

"Peter," Michelle called, softly, as she shook her boyfriend's shoulder. Lying slumped against the lockers in what she hoped was exhaustion and not unconsciousness, a dark purple bruise was beginning to take over his eye, along with his right temple as well. "Peter," She repeated. "Can you hear me?"

"Michelle...?" The teenager muttered, as his eyes slowly opened and connected with her own. They were a bit unfocused, and somewhat foggy, but at least his eyes were actually open now and he wasn't unconscious. After all, Michelle would take the best she could get. "My—My head hurts..."

Michelle started to smile at the sigh of her boyfriend okay and injured, but otherwise alright, but stopped and frowned as he mentioned his headache. "I know," She responded, as she met Flash's eyes in the corner of her own, but kept her gaze on the boy in front of her. "Flash and I think you hit your head again," She said, taking a deep breath. "So we're going to take you to the nurse, okay? And then we'll call your aunt to let her know what happened, and that you might be absent from class."

Peter nodded slowly, a lazy smile placed on his face, but stopped when his vision tripled and he could now see three Michelle's instead of one. "M'kay," He mumbled, without a second of hesitation.

"Alright. Flash?" Michelle had then asked, turning to the other boy. Just a few steps away from them, he looked just as worried as her, if not more. "Think you can help me out here?" She hinted at helping the teenager up.

"Yeah, sure." Taking Peter's backpack from him, Flash had then swung it over his shoulder, before swinging the teenager's arm over it as well, while Michelle did the same on the opposite side. And it wasn't like it was hard, considering Peter was pretty light, but it was concerning when Peter didn't even try and protest, as the two helped him to the nurse's office.

'Oh well.' Flash thought he heard Michelle sigh. 'Hopefully Peter would be alright.'

••••••••••••••

"Well, I don't think you have a concussion," the nurse said, as she shone a penlight into Peter's eyes. Holding an ice pack to his head, the teenager was seated on a cot, while Michelle rubbed his back and Flash called his aunt. "But, I did get an email from your aunt, saying you got hurt the other day, so I'll be sending you home anyway. Just sit tight while Flash calls your aunt, alright?"

"Okay." The teenager nodded as he continued holding the ice pack to his temple, while his head rested in the crook of Michelle's neck. From a few feet away, he could hear Flash's phone call and could try to pick up pieces of sentences like "head injury" and "You need to come get him immediately..." but that was if he tried to focus on the words; and, at the moment, the only thing Peter could focus on was how much his head hurt. "Th-Thanks..."

"No problem, Peter." Clicking off her penlight, the nurse had then tucked away said item in her jacket pocket, before she began to stand. "Now, get some rest. If you wanna sleep, then you can, but just have Michelle here—" Casting a glance at the girl, the nurse shot her a bright smile. "—Wake you up every few minutes, okay? Otherwise, your aunt should be coming to get you soon."

"Alright." Peter nodded with a polite smile of his own, as he shut his eyes for a quick second. His head was still settled in Michelle's neck so he could hear her whispering random words of nonsense and unimportant issues, until she caught sight of the darkening bruise.

"Hey Pete?" She questioned quietly, in order to help soothe her boyfriend's head injury. "Can you look at me, please?"

Raising his head so that it wasn't taken off her shoulder, but he could still look at her, the boy did as he was told, but that didn't mean he liked it. In fact, he hated it when Michelle took his head in her hands and brushed her thumb over the tender skin, but that was more because of the pain he was in, rather than her accidentally hurting him.

"Sorry," She apologized, as her boyfriend pulled away and brought the ice closer to his eye.

"It's alright," Peter replied, as he took his head out of Michelle's hands, so he was sitting up on his own and no longer leaning on the girl. "I just know that I'm going to be cooped up in the apartment all week, with May stressing over me..."

Finally joining in on the conversation, Flash looked up from where he sat in a maroon swivel chair and was scrolling through Instagram. He was sitting the wrong way, with his legs sticking out the sides and his arms crossed on top, but he looked comfortable, so Peter didn't question it. "Too bad you're not Spider-Man," He added. "Did you guys see that video of him yesterday? He beat up, like, five guys."

"And, anyway..." Michelle spoke, as she ignored Flash's comment about the superhero. "At least she cares about you."

"Wait..." Shaking his head, Peter tried to comprehend the confusing information he took in, rather than Michelle reassuring him. "I–I'm not Spider-Man?" He asked.

Flash, knowing confusion was probably a symptom of concussion and that Peter probably wasn't thinking properly, refrained himself from laughing and, instead, shot the teen a stunned expression. "Dude," He deadpanned. "Even if you were Spider-Man, I think I'd know by now. You kinda suck at keeping secrets..."

Michelle let a laugh slip past her lips, as she smiled brightly. "It's true," She agreed. "It's why I didn't tell you about my internship at Oscorp Industries."

As Flash laughed and Michelle shared another example of Peter's horrible secret-keeping, the teenager tuned them both out, and looked down at the ground.

It all made sense now; why May had been so intent on having him stay home, why his head was still pounding like he'd been hit with a fire hydrant, and why he wasn't able to push Ned off him with his superpowers.

Because, as reality sunk in... Peter realized he didn't have any.

•••••••••••••••••••

Flash had went back to class, sending his well wishes before doing so, while Michelle continued to sit beside him and stroke his hair as they waited on May or Tony to show up.

"How do you think it's gonna go?" Peter asked, hoping for some optimism from his "girlfriend".

"Your aunt and uncle are gonna wrap you in caution tape or something."

"Geez, thanks."

"I'm kidding, babe." She chuckled just as May came in, smiling sympathetically at her nephew.

"Thank you, Michelle." She smiled, which was her cue to leave, and the pregnant woman turned to her nephew. "Think you can stand up, sweetheart?"

Peter nodded, pushing himself onto his shaking feet before following her toward the car.

"Hey, actually, can I get a drink real quick?"

"Sure. I'll be in the car. " May told him, going to the parking lot and he got a drink before walking out of the school.

That's when he saw Ned retreat into a alleyway, a familiar red and blue suit poking out of his backpack. Peter, being confused, knew he couldn't immediately assume Ned was Spider-Man in this weird, twisted world, and he also knew he couldn't investigate until tomorrow or May would get worried. Not to mention, he really just wanted to sleep off his headache, so he got into the car, and laid his aching head against the window.

••••••••••••••••••

"No. Absolutely not." May insisted, poking at the Thai takeout spread across the table.

"She has a point, kid. Who said that this won't happen again tomorrow?" Tony added, glancing at his nephew from his spot at the table.

"What are the odds that I'm gonna hit my head into a locker again?" Peter questioned as he shoved a fork full into his mouth.

"Pretty high."

"Aunt May!" Peter whined to her. "Michelle and Flash will wrap me in caution tape if that makes you feel better. Plus, I have decathlon tomorrow, and I have to go to that, or I'll be suspended from the next competition." Peter lied, but that could've been very true, for all he knew.

"I just don't know." May sighed, turning to Tony. "What do you think, babe?"

"Just be careful. Don't stress your aunt out more."

"Yes!” Peter pumped his fist just as May looked at her husband with wide eyes in shock.

"Tony, are you serious?" She demanded. "He's lucky that I don't take him to the ER with that head wound!"

"Hey." Tony told her, kissing her cheek. "I'll make it up to you later."

"How?" She demanded, clearly impressed with him at that moment.

All it took was for Tony to wiggle his eyebrows and wink at her for Peter to leave, storming off in disgust.

"I'm done!"

•••••••••••••••

AfAter school that day, Peter decided to use his imaginary decathlon practice to figure out what the heck was going on with Ned in this weird universe, but it was NOT easy.

He trudged around several alleys, stores and even thought about checking the next county over when he stumbled into a particularly dark alleyway and was immediately cornered by ten guys.

What he wouldn't do for Karen in that moment giving him a battle plan.

He raised his fists in order to fight, knowing it wouldn't go well, when a web latched onto one of the men, causing him to call on the ground, before the Spider-Man of that universe landed in the most awesome pose ever, quickly returning to his face, and started to fight them, while Peter did something he thought he would never have to do after getting bit, which was retreat to a different part of the alley and watch as Ned took the guys down.

However, he knew that one person, superpowers or not (with the exception of Bruce Banner or Thor) couldn't take down the guys at once.

So, he looked beside the dumpsters, a hobby he didn't have much time for anymore, and found a broken wooden baseball bat leaning against them.

He picked it up, adjusting his grip on it, before making the stupidest decision ever, and running towards them while yelling, flailing his arms.

Several of the guys ran, as Spider-Man webbed them up before Peter felt something slam him in the back of the head.

His vision blurred and spun immediately, and he stumbled to the ground.

He heard a slight 'woosh' noise before seeing a very blurry Ned hovered over him.

"Oh, god, dude. I'm calling a ambulance, alright? Thanks for your help, by the way."

Peter couldn't even nod as his vision fully went dark.

•••••••••••

Peter quickly returned to consciousness, feeling that instead of pavement under him, he felt the comfort of a mattress, which caused him to sit straight up, fearing he had been taken to the hospital.

He looked around once his vision cleared from the fast-paced movement to see that he was in his own room, with May sitting beside the bed and Tony standing in the doorway in casual wear, which caused Peter to groan.

"I'm still in a parallel universe!" As he flopped back down on the pillows dramatically, causing May to ask.

"Peter, what are you talking about?"

"How hard did you hit your head?" Tony added, before explaining. "After that criminal hit you in the head with his gun, and that little girl convinced her mom to call the hospital, I had to pull so many strings to get you transferred to the tower—”

“Wait, what?” Peter questioned, confused. “H-How long have I been out?”

“Four days,” Tony explained, patiently. “After Helen gave you the all clear, we got you cleaned up and had Happy take you home, so I could make some adjustments to your mask."

"B-But I wasn't Spider-Man!” Peter protested. “Ned was. And he hated me, but Flash was my best friend, and Michelle was girly and we were dating, and you two were married and May was pregnant with my cousin sibling."

May and Tony turned and shot each other a disgusted look before they returned both their gazes back to Peter.

"I think you just had a bad dream, sweetheart." May tried to rationalize, but Peter wasn't having any of it as he protested.

"But I was taking French! No one takes French voluntarily!"

"Okay,” May agreed. “Well, just relax now, okay? You’re back, you’re okay, and  no one is pregnant.” May joked, as she ran a hand through Peter’s hair. “Now, do you want some dinner?”

"Maybe later,” Peter replied. "My head really hurts, and I'm not that hungry."

May nodded, before she stood up, and started escorting Tony out of their apartment, while Peter picked up his phone, and quickly texted Ned.

 _peter (10:12pm): Dude, I had the wildest dream. And I'm_ _not_ _dead!_


End file.
